Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation was an agreement by the first thirteen states of the United States ratified on 1 March 1781, creating a confederation of states instead of a federal government. The articles proclaimed the sovereignty of each state, allowing one vote for each state in the Congress of the Confederation, state legislators paying for a US Army, and the semi-independence of all of the states. The articles created a weak and decenntralized government, leading to the US Constitution being ratified in 1787 to form a federal government that would replace the confederation established in 1781.